Notorious Mexican Drug Lord 'El Chapo' Escapes from Jail

Flights
near Altiplano prison outside Mexico Citywere suspended and roads and
highways in the surrounding areas were being searched by security officials.

It
is the second time Guzman, who ran the Sinaloa cartel that smuggles large
quantities of drugs into the United States, escaped from jail.

According
to USATODAY prison guards, possibly by hiding him in a laundry cart, helped
Guzman escape from a jail in western Mexico in 2001.

Mexico's
National Security Commission said in a statement Sunday that Guzman disappeared
shortly before 9 p.m. on Saturday after going for a shower in the prison where
he has been held since February last year.

Guzman
was re-captured in 2014 after more than a decade on the run.

At
one point, Forbes magazine
estimated his fortune at more than $1 billion.

The
Sinaloa cartel is a key player in a drugs war that has ravaged parts of Mexico
for years and cost thousands of lives.

Mexican
authorities are expected to hold a press conference later Sunday.